Friday was a complete wash, not even nearly Q’s on 4 runs. At least 2 errors each run. Maxie took an A-frame 20 feet to the side rather than the see-saw I was running toward, took a tunnel entrance I was attempting to block which required him to run around the back of my legs. These will be added to the Bloopers Video I'm working on. He and I weren’t quite in sync. No idea why.
Lucky walked the weaves all weekend, with her head hung down like the hound dog she is, and only made course time once.
She made two errors on each course she ran on Friday. The rookie gate-keeper wasn’t calling dog’s names
ahead of time, so I was late to the gate one time and ran with treats in my pocket. Oops! Bet I'm not the first person to do that.
Saturday was better. Maxie QQ'd (his 6th) with 2 1st place wins and 23 MACH points. They were SOLID Q's, and that felt great. Lucky got her 5th XS Q, and 3 MACH points. She did well in jumpers and ran fast enough to Q, except where I got lost and fumbled around trying to find my way again. It was my NQ, not hers. Sorry, baby girl.
Sunday was another complete wash. The video composites tell the whole story. I don't know why my audio cuts out sometimes. When will I get the right equipment?
Maxie's runs, with commentary:
Lucky's runs, with commentary:
On the upside, I memorized the courses easily and only briefly lost my way -- twice. Otherwise, I was focused. I pumped my arms on straight runs like Georgie just taught me, and didn’t call each obstacle if it was the obvious next choice. Both worked. I met 4 new people who held real conversations with me, one who reads my blog, and I remember their names: Peggy, Joan, Amy and Gloria with her 12" papillon, Bleu. (I'm not very good at social banter, so this was especially pleasant.)
The courses, designed by Judge Jacqueline Hote, each had 2 or 3 difficult spots. Easy to memorize,
but strange angles sent too many dogs off course. Once, the weaves headed straight towards a concrete wall, going nowhere, which confused many dogs. I've never seen that before. We always practice weaves out in the open . . . . . guess we'll need to face them towards a wall occasionally. Some complained that between the 6th and 7th weave was an open space which threw several dogs off. In other words, it was 2 sets of 6 weaves with a 24" space in between them. You can see this in the videos.
Jon Morar and I struck a deal. I video Morgan, he videos both Lucky and
Maxie. This works because he jumps 24, I
jump 20 and 8, and I do the lions share of the work processing and uploading afterwards.
Otherwise I have to leave my camera up in the balcony with clubmates who hunker
together and video from up there. But then, only my own runs land on my camera. I miss all the other ones I like to
follow. With the camera down below, I
can catch a bunch.
The 4 hour drive home was uneventful. I got sleepy, though, so I stopped at RaceWay and bought a 5 Hour Energy Shot which kept me alert for hours, and listened to a Book On Tape, Smoke and Mirrors, which was good and made the time pass quickly.
This was my 3rd trial in West Monroe. Stayed at Motel 6 again, right down the road. Had no wi-fi all weekend for some reason, but made do without it. The arena seems smaller and smaller every time I go. Guess I'm finally getting used to things.
Upwards and onward,
The 4 hour drive home was uneventful. I got sleepy, though, so I stopped at RaceWay and bought a 5 Hour Energy Shot which kept me alert for hours, and listened to a Book On Tape, Smoke and Mirrors, which was good and made the time pass quickly.
This was my 3rd trial in West Monroe. Stayed at Motel 6 again, right down the road. Had no wi-fi all weekend for some reason, but made do without it. The arena seems smaller and smaller every time I go. Guess I'm finally getting used to things.
Upwards and onward,
2 comments:
congrats on the QQ's I thought those were well run :)
On the first two courses, I think all three calls are because of the missed jump. First there is a refusal call, then an off-course call and finally a failure to perform call. I wouldn't worry about it since going back for the jump would be counter-productive for Lucky. You want to build her confidence in your handling and in her performance. Secondly, since the run has to be clean to be a qualifying run, once a run has been faulted, a wise strategy is to keep moving and either push for speed (without stressing your dog) or try a move you might not otherwise try.
On the JWW run, I think the E may have been scribe or transcription error.
Hope this helps.
Post a Comment